"Tsunami of foreclosures may wash over Central Valley"

This looks like one of my headlines. From the Central Valley Business Times:


As the so-called “subprime” market – the industry that spawned the no money down home buying spree – is rocked by financial failures, the waves of the financial storm could wash over the Central Valley, says an expert on the industry.

The national delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 4.95 percent of all loans outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2006 on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 28 basis points from the third quarter, and up 25 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s national delinquency survey revealed this week.

The increase was driven by increases in delinquencies for all major loan types, most notably for subprime and FHA loans, it says.

"As we had expected, in the fourth quarter, delinquency rates again increased across the board. Increases in delinquency and foreclosure rates were noticeably larger for subprime loans,” says Doug Duncan, MBA's chief economist and senior vice president of research and business development.

“As we have noted before and as recent events have made clear, market discipline in this industry is swift, can be severe, and is more effective at changing lending practices than any potential changes in regulation," says Mr. Duncan.